This Deluxe White Oak Bokken is made of selected high quality Japanese White Oak (Shirogashi) and features a curved spine and rounded butt for a more realistic shinken feeling when training. Available in Long, Middle and Short versionsThis long model is recommended for Aikido and Koryu pracitioner for suburi and general paired contact kata practice. This bulk product is available in 6, 12 & 24pcs and comes with good discounts, recommended for Dojo's!

What is Japanese White Oak?

The White Oak Wood used for Japanese Bokken, also called 'Shirogashi', greatly differs from the White Oak Wood referred to when speaking about North American Bokken. While the North American Oak and Japanese Oak are related, the Japanese White Oak tree is evergreen, due to this it does not have a conspicuous open grain like the American White and Red Oak. The open grain structure, of the American Oak wood produces soft areas which are more prone to impact damage. Shirogashi on the other hand has a structure that is uniformly hard, has excellent dent resistance and has better impact strength than American Oaks.Compared to Akagashi the Shirogashi has denser grains which also makes it slightly heavier and more preferable as material for Bokken. Because of the durability and weight of Shirogashi, it's widely regarded as great material for making high quality Bokken.